ABSOLUTELY LIVE II (VIVA MEXICO! / LIVE IN MARYLAND Six years after his last release, Juan de Marcos, architect of the famous Buenavista Social Club sessions, comes back with an Afro- Cuban All Stars’ new production, Absolutely Live II, an eclectic and interactive live album based on excerpts concerts performed at the Cervantino International Festival in Guanajuato, Mexico, and The Strathmore Center for the Arts in North Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Dubbed “the Quincy Jones of Cuban Music” by Down Beat Magazine, due to his creative approach to different Cuban and international genres. Juan de Marcos work received the inaugural Womex award in 1999, and his many albums, including his 1997 debut recording, A Toda Cuba le Gusta, are considered seminal in the new millennium renaissance of Afro-Cuban music. Viva Mexico! is the audio portion and features five distinct Cuban genres in eight tracks, ranging from Afro-Cuban Jazz on tunes like “Yaimara´s Groove,” where Havana meets New Orleans, to 1950s-style Pilón, and it includes a new version of Ibrahim Ferrer’s classic hit “Candela,” which first reached international audiences on the original Buena Vista Social Club album. Other highlights include Contemporary and Traditional Cuban Son (Barbaridad, Kila, Quique y Chocolate), Timba (La Mujer del Barbaro), and introspective tracks like “Camino de Santiago”, about the emergence of prostitution in Cuba during the euphemistically called “Special Period in times of Peace. ”Viva Mexico! – an explosive showcase of danceable music – was recorded live, capturing a special moment exactly as it happened. It is the first release of new label, DM Ahora! Productions, which pays tribute to both the founding members of Afro- Cuban All Stars (Ruben Gonzalez, Compay Segundo, Manuel Licea, Pio Leyva, Raul Planas, etc.) and Mexico, a nation that proudly supports the Cuban people. Based on the successful reception of previous concert videos (Live in Japan, Live in the Hague, Salon of Dreams), Absolutely Live II also offers a brand-new release, Live in Maryland, which contains excerpts of a performance at the prestigious Strathmore Center for the Arts in North Bethesda, Maryland. While most of the earlier live productions were large-venue performances, Live in Maryland embodies the magic and intimacy of a concert hall setting, and features a warmer, slightly roomier sound. The video features five songs. “Laura en el Paraiso”, written by Juan de Marcos in honor of his younger daughter, clarinetist Laura Lydia Gonzalez, is a set of Afro-Cuban jazz which opens full band, with the piano playing the melodic lines. A full binary development leads to a complicated and asymmetric Ostinato, which serves as the foundation for several solos. “On the road again” is a Cha Cha Cha version of the Santa Maria / Lavilliers classic. “Gliceria 5:00 AM” is a Danzón penned by Juan de Marcos and dedicated to his wife of 38 years, percussionist and band manager Gliceria Abreu. “No´vamo´ a la Rumba,” is a contemporary Cuban son. Performance ends in a kind of Cuban party with the explosive “Nacho´s Pilón,” which combines that traditional rhythm with Timba. This exciting first video release from the new label DM Ahora! Productions, shows the musicianship and energy of Afro-Cuban All Stars in full maturity. .